Online Master of Public Administration: Inspector General

The online Master of Public Administration: Inspector General program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice offers highly specialized training in the growing field of inspection and oversight. Developed in close collaboration with the Association of Inspectors General, our program is unique in that it prepares public administration students for much-needed positions in organizations that investigate the performance of other organizations.

Federal, state, and local governments have long held a need for skilled Comptrollers, Inspectors General, and other inspection and oversight professionals. However, a growing number of companies in the private sector are facing similar regulatory demands. This includes a higher level of oversight to ensure compliance, transparency and integrity. The online MPA: Inspector General program was developed with these demands in mind.

Most public administration programs instruct students in technical and supervisory positions for public and nonprofit organizations. John Jay College’s online MPA: Inspector General program goes deeper. We examine the issues confronting organizations across both the public and private sectors such as compliance, misconduct and forensic accountancy.

Graduates of the program are equipped to take on employment opportunities in inspection and oversight, or to apply their knowledge to related functions, including:

Regulatory compliance

Risk management

Performance assessment

Field inspection

Investigative journalism

The online MPA: Inspector General program is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration.

Plans of Study

The online Master of Public Administration: Inspector General program can be completed in two years of study or three years. The program is structured so that each course builds upon another. As a result, it is a “cohort program,” as students must take courses in a specific order. This order depends on whether the student enrolls in the two-year option or the three-year option, and whether in the Fall or Spring semester.

Students must earn a total of 42 credits across 14 courses, including:

Core courses focused on the foundations of public policy, public administration and inspection and oversight

Specialized courses concentrating on inspection and oversight issues such as abuse, corruption, and investigative techniques

Two elective courses

A capstone seminar

The two elective courses may be completed through one of the following options:

An online course offered by the program in the summer

An online course offered by the on-campus MPA program

A graduate course completed at another academic institution (before or during matriculation in the online program)

A certification course offered by the Association of Inspectors General, such as the Certified Inspector General course

In addition to completing all course requirements, students must pass a qualifying examination, administered during the semester in which they take Public Administration (PAD 700). Students must also travel to two conferences of the Association of Inspectors General while enrolled in the program.

Students may transfer up to four graduate courses (12 credits) from outside the program, as long as the courses are equivalent to corresponding courses in the program. Students may transfer a maximum of four courses offered by on-campus John Jay College programs.

Students enrolled in the on-campus MPA Program may apply for admission to the online MPA: Inspector General program. However, if admitted, no more than four on-campus courses (12 credits) may be applied to the online degree. For additional information contact the Office of Admissions.

Plans of Study

Students admitted to the online MPA: Inspector General program have the choice between two plans of study. One allows students to complete the degree in two years by taking three required courses per semester; the other allows students to complete the degree in three years by taking two courses per semester. Electives are generally taken in the summer.

Students enrolling in the two-year program may choose one of plans below:

Fall Entry

Spring Entry

First Semester

Public Administration

Bureaupathology

Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Corruption

Research Methods in Public Administration

Assessments, Audits and Investigations in Human Resources

Public Sector Inspection and Oversight

Second Semester

Bureaupathology

Public Administration

Research Methods in Public Administration

Management of Information and Technology

Public Sector Inspection and Oversight

Public Sector Accounting and Auditing

Third Semester

Management of Information and Technology

Public Sector Accounting and Auditing II

Public Sector Accounting and Auditing

Investigative Techniques

Ethics, Integrity and Accountability

Capstone Seminar

Fourth Semester

Public Sector Accounting and Auditing II

Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Corruption

Investigative Techniques

Assessments, Audits and Investigations in Human Resources

Capstone Seminar

Ethics, Integrity and Accountability

Students enrolling in the three-year program may choose one of the plans below:

Fall Entry

Spring Entry

First Semester

Public Administration

Bureaupathology

Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Corruption

Public Sector Inspection and Oversight

Second Semester

Bureaupathology

Public Administration

Public Sector Inspection and Oversight

Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Corruption

Third Semester

Assessments, Audits and Investigations in Human Resources

Research Methods in Public Administration

Ethics, Integrity and Accountability

Investigative Techniques

Fourth Semester

Research Methods in Public Administration

Public Sector Accounting and Auditing

Investigative Techniques

Ethics, Integrity and Accountability

Fifth Semester

Management of Information and Technology

Public Sector Accounting and Auditing II

Public Sector Accounting and Auditing

Capstone Seminar

Sixth Semester

Public Sector Accounting and Auditing II

Management of Information and Technology

Capstone Seminar

Assessments, Audits and Investigations in Human Resources

Association of Inspectors General Conference Requirements

While enrolled in the program, students are required to attend two conferences of the Association of Inspectors General, where they meet face-to-face with their course instructors. Students in the three-year plan of study are required to attend one conference during their first year of study and then a second conference during either their second or third year of study. However, they are encouraged to attend at least one conference each year that they are enrolled in the program.

Students who miss a required conference will receive an incomplete grade in the lowest-numbered PAD course of that semester. Students can resolve this grade by attending another conference.

Conferences usually occur in November and May of each year. The Program Director determines which conference students will be required to attend, and informs them of the dates and location in advance. In addition to face-to-face class meetings, students also attend various sessions and presentations, and to partake in networking opportunities. Students should arrive before the conference commences.

Class meetings are scheduled around conference events so students may take part in many activities. Typical meeting times are Thursday morning and Friday afternoon. A meeting generally lasts about two hours.

Students are responsible for the costs of travel and hotel accommodations, but the program pays all conference registration costs.